I have a race of people with four arms in one of my stories so they tend to wear serapes. They could wear shirts with one set of arms pressed in or have modified shorts with four arms, but still, their clothing is interesting.
What do you think the solutions for winged humanoids would be? Or those with tails? How does one assure modesty while also having clothing that is easy to put on, move in, and take off while in a body that is decidedly not the norm?
Posted by extrinsic (Member # 8019) on :
Form follows function. If modesty is the function, like bikinis are, small items easily donned or removed fit the use. If utility is the function, say protection from hazards of the evironment, the form suits the exposure. Primitive humans wore loincloths, aprons, leggings, and sandals to protect from environmental hazards, not out of modesty. If self-expression is the function, elaborate attire is the norm and not so easily donned or removed as a loincloth. Valets and dressing servants are necessary in that case. And so on--form follows function. What's the function or functions.
On the other hand, a Postmodern attire would place emphasis away from functional form, challenge the notion that form must follow function, though how that isn't a self-expression function I don't know. Say a fashion that has no function, maybe bandages, osteo wraps, and prosthetics worn for no medical reason, not as disguise nor fashion statement nor costume, that cannot help but be a self-expression function. Deny one rhetoric and another substitutes.
Celtic kilts are modesty, utility, and protective functions, and self-expression. Greek togas, the same. Of course, contemporary apparel is the same. Shirt collars, suit lapels, ascots, neckties, and such, were originally attachments sewn on or worn over outerwear to protect expensive foundation garments from the powder and grease of wig whiteners. Pants developed from leggings and stocking hose. Shoes from sandals. Women's garment fasteners being backward from men's was so that women could be dressed and undressed by others, men and servants, as a type of chastity function. Corsets, for example.
Wings suggest a vest-like upper garment. A tail suggests a two-piece lower garment that covers legs, spans backside and front side, fasteners at the front and back, the back fastened first, then wrapped around the torso, then fastened in front. Unless dressed by a valet or hand servant. Which that latter raises complications that might have dramatic agency. Maybe not a servant at all but a shared dressing bonding ritual by companions similar to simian grooming, a form that follows a function.